Should chickens be kept out of vegatable gardens?

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

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I wonder how long e-coli has been around. ?

 

[Ang]

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Yep! They will mow it all down.

 

[Texasboy4ever]

I don't know, I read all this stuff about don't let your chickens eat this don't let them do this and I wonder how much is based on true facts or is it just printed in a magizine or news paper or what ever to fill space or to sell copys. My chickens free range all the time and like our Tennessee friend says there has to be all kinds of poop in the area. We also have bears, bobcat, wild turkeys, coyotes, wolfves and dogs among the other smaller critters including large rats . I do take precautions though, I never bring a chicken in unless it's from a breeder I know is disease free or that I hatch out myself. I have had young chicks die and older chickens die for no apparent reason. I have good healthy chickens that give me plenty of eggs. Of course I feed them laying mash and starter/grower and give them a good healthy food, keep the pen clean and make sure they have plenty of clean water. We are on a well so I don't have to worry about chemicals in the water. I have raised chickens for a long time I keep doing what works and stop what doesn't work for me. And what I do doesn't mean it will work for someone else. But I have had good results with all my chickens over the years. Just my thoughts

 

[mdbokc]

My chickens eat everything they can reach. They don't get near the garden until everything is mature and plants can handle the ground scratching at the base of the plants.

I place the poop in the garden area each winter and then cover it with dirt. Plants go in about 30 days later. So far, no problems but have to say, the opening of this thread made me a little nervous as I thought maybe we have just been lucky.

 

[mdbokc]

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As I recall, the water that was used for irrigation and made contact with the produce was itself contaminated with ecoli.

 

[BoerneChickens]

Wow - thanks everyone for all of your feedback! I have a small backyard size flock on a city size lot - so I think it makes sense to have a way to keep them out of gardens at different times and probably need to be out there the first few times to make sure they don't wreak masive havoc on the plants

. I was hoping to avoid too much fencing but maybe I can find some way to put up temporary fencing around the different gardens that is easy to move.

Any ideas on that?

Maybe T posts and some deer mesh? Every day I find I have more to learn about this whole adventure! As one friend told me - "Getting chickens is either the smartest thing you have ever done OR the dumbest.." - I'm hoping it's not the later, but doubtful it is the former either!

 

[BoerneChickens]

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As I recall, the water that was used for irrigation and made contact with the produce was itself contaminated with ecoli.

I think that is right - if I remember right the irrigation water was contaminated with run off from commerial beef feedlots. But I an not 100% certain I am remembering that correctly

 

[Subgauge]

Dead Pirate

Explain to me the poop and organic rule thing please.

Whats more organic than poop??

 

[gryeyes]

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You are. Cow poop was the ecoli source for that salad stuffs contamination.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

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I'm not sure if I can make it any clearer.

Poop = great fertilizer
But...also...in addition to that...poop = potential source of pathogens.

ergo...no poop allowed within 120 days of harvest.

It's not a question of whether it's "organic" or not. It's a matter of poop is poop.